presented
to them by their masters."

It is proper here to state that among the most serious obstacles to the
spread of the gospel among this people, the use of ardent spirits has
long held and does still hold a prominent place. We once heard a
slave-holder say that if Abolitionists had stirred up as much rebellion
and caused as much bloodshed among the negroes as the retailers of
ardent spirits had done, there would long ere this have been a civil
war.

Nat Turner's insurrection broke out in the region that formerly
manufactured vast quantities of apple-brandy. His followers are known to
have been highly stimulated with this _liquid fire_. Indeed, we know a
clergyman who for many years has resided and travelled extensively in
the South, and who testifies that among scores of negroes under sentence
of death whom he has visited, he remembers but two, who were not led to
commit the crimes that brought them to such a sentence by some sort of
influence arising from strong drink; and in most cases by drinking just
before they committed the crime. It gives us pleasure to state that the
sound principles of the Temperance reformation are so few, so plain, and
so simple, that they are of easy application to this kind of population.
Many recent experiments in the South prove the truth of this assertion,
and exhibit most blessed effects arising from the introduction of this
reformation among them. Let the friends of morality and religion
persevere. Drunkenness is the enemy of the black and the white. It
destroys both soul and body, in time and eternity.

We have in possession a number of printed documents written by good men
residing in the South on the subject of the religious instruction of the
negroes.

One of them is the "Rev. Dr. Richard Furman's exposition of the views of
the Baptists relative to the colored population of the United States, in
a communication to the Governor of South Carolina," and published at his
recommendation. In this document, it is stated that the result of his
inquiry and reasoning leads among others to the following conclusions:

"That Masters having the disposal of the persons, time, and labour of
their servants, and being the heads of families, are bound, on
principles of moral and religious duty to give these servants religious
instruction; or at least to afford them opportunities, under proper
regulations, to obtain it; and to grant religious privileges to those
who desire them, and furnis